


Command of space

by Tayani



Series: ShuAke Confidant Week [15]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Making Up, Mild but still there, Miscommunication, Moving In Together, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Post-Canon, Shuake Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27642071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani
Summary: Shuake Week 2020 Day 5: Opposites / Home / OutfitsGoro and Akira move in together.It wassupposed towork out well.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: ShuAke Confidant Week [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1172450
Comments: 19
Kudos: 138





	Command of space

Akira had a problem.

It didn’t feel fair, honestly. You’d think after a man killed a god, saved the world twice in a row and had to lose his lover so many times he frankly stopped counting by now, he deserved a moment’s rest.

“Akira.”

Alas, that was not the case. With a sigh, Akira looked up from over the manga he was reading and into his boyfriend’s deceptively calm face.

“Care to explain what the hell this is?”

Akira turned to look at what Goro was pointing at and shrugged, going back to his manga - which was immediately tugged out of his hands, Goro snarling in annoyance.

“I asked you a question,” he said. Akira pursed his lips.

“It’s my things, on my shelves,” he said, sounding much more snappy than he intended to, snatching his manga back. “Where I just put them after you took them down and hidden them in a box.  _ Again _ .”

It’s been the second goddamn week since they moved in together, and Akira was at his fucking limit.

At first, it sounded like such a good idea.

After Goro came back once Maruki’s reality was destroyed, he and Akira barely spent any time apart. Whether it was Akira’s apartment or Goro’s, they usually spent their nights together, so many clothes being split between each other’s places they functionally had two apartments now.

It only made sense, the two of them decided, to just be done with it and move in together. They’d save money and get rid of the constant, annoying  _ can you check if I left my shirt at your place again _ calls.

Sadly, theory and practice didn’t match up at all. Mostly because, as it turned out, he and Goro had  _ very  _ different ideas of what constituted proper home decor.

“Oh, so those are  _ your  _ shelves now, are they?” Goro hissed at him, crossing his arms over his chest. His fingers turned pale where they curled into his arm. Akira shot him an annoyed look. Goro continued, completely unfazed by it. “I thought we agreed that those are  _ bookshelves _ . For books. Not useless trinkets.”

“We didn’t agree shit! You just decided it,” Akira snapped his manga closed and sat up on the couch he was previously laying on. “And those aren’t  _ useless trinkets _ . They’re gifts from my friends! I want them where I can see them, and it’s not like we have enough books to fill all those shelves you insisted on having anyway!”

“Well, maybe if you moved your ass and helped me unpack my boxes you’d notice we  _ do _ , in fact, have enough books!”

“Oh, so I’m supposed to give up something personal and precious to me so you can preen about having Hegel and Kafka in your living room?”

“Just because you’re a simpleminded attic trash who thinks a goddamn  _ swan boat model  _ is more impressive than my collection of famous philosophers doesn’t mean you’re right!”

“Well, just because you don’t have any  _ friends  _ doesn’t mean you can dictate where I put gifts from mine!”

Akira regretted the words the moment they left his mouth.

The shift in the atmosphere was immediate, the chill that suddenly filled the room palpable. Akira stared at how Goro froze up hearing that, how pale he went. His face, so expressive just beforehand, immediately returned to the blank mask - a defence mechanism so instinctive it was second nature. Akira felt guilt flood his chest; if he was a cat, his ears would be flattening on his head.

“I- Goro, I didn’t mean-” he tried, but was interrupted.

Without a word, Goro grabbed his bag and marched out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Akira cursed and fell back on the couch again.

_ Fuck _ .

The last two weeks were pretty much a constant blur of situations like these.

It was the little things. Goro insisting all the cups in the kitchen should be the same after Akira just bought them a few different cat designs he thought were cute. Akira complaining about the blue sheets Goro picked and leaving his clothes in a pile in the wardrobe for days because honestly, he didn’t feel like folding them all. Goro throwing passive-aggressive comments about dishes being left in the sink and removing all the little memorabilia he put around their place. Akira retaliating by purposefully hiding all of Goro’s Feathermen figurine collection and putting his own stuff on the shelf his boyfriend designated for merch.

Honestly, Akira supposed it was just a matter of time before the small altercations and annoyances turned into one of them hurting the other.

This was what they got for trying to move past those instead of talking about them. Even though, by now, both he and Goro should have known better than that. Every single issue they had could have been easily resolved with simple communication, but with this…

Well… with this…

Akira sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

With this… he just wanted so badly for it to work out. They both did - he knew that. It was  _ supposed to  _ work out without a hitch. He and Goro loved each other, knew one another through and through, shared so many interests… Living together was supposed to be like a second honeymoon stage in their relationship.

Not… not  _ this _ . Not stupid spats and hurtful words they didn’t mean. Cursing again, Akira stood up and grabbed his bag as well, slamming the door behind himself for good measure.

He felt like a child. He was better than this - more importantly,  _ Goro  _ was more important than this.

Akira locked their apartment, took a deep breath and ran-

-and then collided with someone just at the foot of the stairs, throwing them both to the ground.

“Ouch-!”

“Oof…” Akira groaned, rubbing at his hip which he just slammed into one of the stairs. And then, realizing who was in front of him, jumped to his feet.

“Goro! Look, I- I’m sorry, I didn’t- Alright, see, we really need to-”

“Just help me up, you idiot,” Goro grumbled, the sight of his flushed cheeks and the fond tinge of his voice making Akira realize that though his boyfriend left him in anger and hurt, that though some things were  _ really  _ not working out between them at the moment, that despite all of that...

Goro was coming back to him. Just like Akira, ready to run after him and make things right, his boyfriend was thinking the same thing. 

Feeling better already, Akira smiled and reached out his hand.

“Come on, honey,” he said, hauling Goro up. “Let’s go home. I’ll make us some coffee.”

* * *

“I’ve never had my own apartment before,” Goro said, and Akira stared at him from over his cup.

It was approximately fifteen minutes later. As promised, Akira made them coffee and they sat down, both on the opposite sides of the kitchen counter. Goro spent the whole of the process in silence. Those were his first words after coming home.

Akira frowned.

“That’s not true, though. I mean, your previous apartment was-”

“Given to me by Shido,” Goro shrugged, staring into his cup. “Even after his conviction, it was his fund that covered the rent. Besides, you’d seen it. You thought that was how I decided to decorate the place?”

An image of a barren, lifeless apartment flashed in front of Akira’s eyes. He always wondered why Goro lived in a place like that, minimalistic to a fault. Before him, his boyfriend let out a long sigh.

“The apartment came with a long list of rules and conditions. No pets, no visitors, no additional furniture or appliances. No pictures, posters, no holes in the walls, no glued hooks on them, either. I was to leave this place as pristine as I got it, or else I was to pay to have all the  _ damage  _ removed. What’s more, I had to always account for the possibility Shido will just decide to evict me, for some petty reason or the other. Never doing anything to the apartment, never gathering too many things in case of an eventual move… that seemed like the easiest way to go about things.”

Akira hummed quietly, just to show he was listening. Goro was clearly not done yet.

“And… it’s not like I had a lot I’d like to gather, either way,” his boyfriend continued. “My figurine collection and all my books only appeared at my place after I came back from rehab. I had a nice sum of money put away and it felt like I could finally use it for something I actually enjoyed. You’ve helped, too, with all your little gifts and whatnot. But even then… it felt somehow wrong, to put all of them in an apartment that was so tied to so many bad things. So I never… I never really redecorated. Up until now.”

“So… what you’re saying is…” Akira started. Goro shrugged, swirling the coffee in his cup, studiously not looking up at him.

“I suppose… you  _ were  _ right. I don’t have any friends. Seeing all those trinkets you treasure so much, put on display in what I wanted to be  _ my  _ space, I-”

“No, I wasn’t right,” Akira shook his head vehemently. “I was spouting bullshit. The Thieves are your friends, too. And Sae, and last year when you met Shiho, you guys hit it off really well, too! And-”

“Akira…” Goro sighed, reaching out through the counter and taking his hand, looking up at him for the first time since they started to talk. “You’re missing the point. What I’m trying to say is that… You make so much of your life about yourself and your connections to other people, you may not find it difficult. But for me… I finally got my own place - a place I can do whatever I want with. A place I can share with the one person most important to me. I… I suppose I tried so hard to make it the best it possibly can, for both of us, in the only way I knew how. I made so many plans of how everything will look, where every little thing will be placed, but I never accounted for  _ you  _ in those plans. And then you come in like the agent of chaos you are and just… destroy all of them.” Goro bit his lip.

“It felt like I didn’t have any control over it, all over again. And every attempt I made at gaining that control only ended up making it worse between us.”

“...oh,” Akira said, intelligently. And then, his stunned brain caught up to his lips. “Goro… I had no idea. I’m sorry, I-”

“Oh, shut up,” Goro frowned up at him. “I know you had no idea. That’s why I’m telling you now. And… As I said, it was my bad in the first place, to just… do everything by myself, not wondering how  _ you  _ wanted the place to look. It’s not like I  _ was  _ being stripped of all control by your little additions and fixes, anyway. I just… I struggle with accepting that giving up some of it doesn’t mean giving up  _ all  _ of it is my point, I suppose.”

For a long moment, the two of them sat together, hands still joined over the counter, their coffee growing cold in their mugs. Akira breathed. In front of him, Goro was waiting, he knew - for a retort, a judgement, for Akira to finally tell him this has all been a mistake and break up with him. Akira could almost see the cloud of negative thoughts converging over Goro’s head.

So, like the fool he was, he did the only thing he thought prudent at a time like this.

He leaned in and pressed a long, loving kiss to his boyfriend’s startled lips.

“Well then,” he said, smiling. “I… Like you said, I didn’t know. And it was petty and shitty as fuck of me, to just… try and do things my way without consulting you, either. After all… it’s supposed to be  _ our  _ home, isn’t it? Not mine, not yours.  _ Ours _ . So… let’s sit down and figure it out, together.”

They started from the bedroom. Goro pulled out a notebook for them to write down all they agreed on; Akira called him a nerd and they had to pause their task in order to make out for a bit. Then, both still blushing and in much better moods, they got to work.

They would each pick a set of bedsheets they liked and it’d be their job to wash and change them whenever their pattern was currently in use. Akira would fold his clothes and put them in his side of the wardrobe because Goro’s heightened stress levels were not worth the momentary laziness. They’d figure out a day in their schedules when they can both clean the house together, once a week. For each piece of dirty laundry either of them (Akira) would leave out, he’d be taking care of one of the other’s (Goro’s) chores for a week.

They moved to the living room.

The shelf on which Goro’s Feathermen stuff used to be was to be emptied and returned to the previous state. Goro’s and Akira’s books would all be placed on the bookshelves. Goro picked four trinkets from Akira’s collection and they found places for each around the living room. Akira could rotate them with the others whenever he felt like changing things up a bit. They also agreed they’d take and develop some pictures with the rest of the gang - ones where Goro was present, too. This way, their friends could still get their place around the house, like Akira wanted - and Goro will not feel sidelined in his own home.

They went through a lot more little details. Some things they agreed on - buy more blankets and pillows, get a game console, some movies and games - and others they bickered about - the chore division in the kitchen and the lack of need for uniform mugs. Still, little by little, they worked out a number of little compromises and clever ways to sidestep what issues one of them had with the other’s stuff.

By the time evening came, Goro ordered takeout and helped Akira fold his clothes, and then - after eating and washing their hands thoroughly - they finished unpacking all the books from the last of Goro’s moving boxes.

It was well past midnight by the time they were done and frankly, Akira felt exhausted. Still, sitting on the floor and drinking red wine from his cat-patterned mug (Goro agreed the mugs were actually cute and they could stay), he pulled his boyfriend close and pressed a kiss to his neck.

“...hey?” he said, nuzzling Goro’s shoulder like a cat. His boyfriend leaned into the caress, sipping his own wine from a proper glass.

“Mm?”

“I’m sorry,” Akira murmured. He felt Goro’s hand come up, fingers tangling in his unruly hair.

“What for?”

“For what I said,” Akira sighed, pulling away. “I didn’t mean it. Seriously, I didn’t. I wanted… I guess I wanted to hurt you. Make it  _ really  _ sting. That was shitty of me.”

Goro hummed, downing the rest of his wine.

“You succeeded,” he said, after swallowing. Then, he looked at Akira and leaned in, pressing their foreheads together. “But… I accept the apology. And… well, what you said, it… It really drove it home, you know?”

Akira made a confused noise. Goro smiled at him - a shy, genuine smile Akira wanted to take and hide somewhere safe, keep it just for himself.

“Why I was so petty and snapped so hard about those silly trinkets of yours. In all honesty… I was jealous. Just the same I used to be, back then, at eighteen. I haven’t changed a bit - that’s what  _ really  _ hurt. Not the remark about my lack of friends.”

“You  _ did  _ change, though,” Akira frowned, ready to argue the issue - and only stopped when Goro pressed a finger to his lips.

“I know, silly,” he said, moving the finger away so he could exchange it with his lips. Once they parted, Akira was smiling, too, and not one hundred percent sure what it was they were talking about just now. Goro laughed at him.

“You know what drove  _ that  _ home? That I changed, after all?” Goro asked. Akira gave a non-committal hum, pulling him closer.

“I came back,” Goro smiled. “I was feeling angry and petty and vengeful… But then I realized, I didn’t want to feel like that. That I loved you more than all the bad things I felt.”

He kissed him again, lips stretched in an uncontrollable smile all the way through the kiss.

“I came back to you,” Goro said. “And I knew, the moment I saw you were ready to run after me… Everything’s going to work out. And it’ll always be home, no matter the decor. I’ve never had one before, so I wasn’t sure what the feeling should be, but at that moment, I realized… It’ll always feel like home if I’m with you.”


End file.
